Pondering Trust

Trust

My mind is working this morning on so many different topics, veering from one to another with lightning speed. Yikes! In an attempt to slow it down I decided to come to the blog and concentrate my thoughts on one thing. So let me pull out the first one and see if the others will take care of themselves or perhaps assimilate.

Trust - pretty deep topic, huh?

'Trust' indicates a depth and a sense of assurance that is based on strong but not logically-conclusive evidence, or based on the character, ability, or truth that someone or something has shown over time or across situations. Trust makes for a sense of being safe or of being free of fear, enough so that one's focus can be on other matters because that matter is taken care of. It becomes easier to simply enjoy life.

No human is totally trustworthy.
No human is totally untrustworthy.
No human can always trust themselves.
No human is totally trusting of any one other person.


Trust is a risk. We leave ourselves open for loss. Betrayal of trust hurts so much because the lost sense of security multiplies the damage.

Some keys to building trust :

Communicate. Say accurately what you are doing, and don't assume others 'just know'. Also helpful : suggest some way they can help out.
Do what you've communicated. Nothing is more important to building trust than actions that match the words, non-verbal cues, and stated reasons. (I mean, actions that don't have to have 'spin' to make them seem like they match.)
No scorekeeping. Tit-for-tat is a game that does not help create a sense of trust. Quit reminding others of what they did wrong in the past. Focus on what's happening now.
Look in the mirror. Are you giving others reason to distrust you? Were you acting the same way in a past instance that you were shown untrustworthy?
Repetition. Each time you act in a trustworthy manner, you earn more trust. After a while, the trust starts adding up. Be thorough about it : build trust in every matter, big or small.
Show trust. People who are trusted are more likely to trust. Most people actually are trustworthy in most matters most of the time. Trust them, and the trust may spread. (That doesn't mean blind trust, which is a way to become an untrustworthy person's enabler.)
These words above are not my own but borrowed from Robert Longman Jr. and yet they fit.

I was thinking of trust on so many different areas.....political, professional, personal, virtual...and though the words above revolve around the human interaction aspect, I think as well about the trust we sometimes subconciously put into any written word we see. As I was surfing around, I realized yet again how much impact the written word has on the way we think. What we expose our minds to becomes a part of us; alters our way of thinking. We often make a conscious choice to discard that which goes against our way of thinking as we read the news reports, the essays, the blogs, and so forth, and yet we then encounter words which our mind seizes because we've not yet formed an opinion one way or another on a topic and that is when someone else's words have the power to shape our thoughts. Of course, our thoughts and opinions can change with the exposure to even more words......but for those who do not continue to seek; those who are willing to hold on to a thought.....how much so are their lives and their interactions then shaped by the words and thoughts of another? I'm probably not saying this well for fear that Yahoo is going to time out on me and the thought will be lost. However, I don't think we are inherently distrustful, especially of the written word. We may approach things suspiciously but when they don't attack us on any level we allow ourselves to be exposed. How malicious the propoganda which is thrown out for public consumption; how careless the words put together without any factual basis; and how sad that so much of humanity seeks the odd, the fascinating, the outrageous for diversion from their own stale thoughts. Many will read and accept the words at face value and never look beyond the words or truly contemplate what exactly those words mean especially for themselves when accepted and absorbed into the thoughts that drive and motivate them.

"Give me 26 lead soldiers and I will conquer the world." Benjamin Franklin

This is where my mind is carrying me with the issue of trust though my heart is sending its own messages to the brain to mingle with these logical ones. I'll leave the further exploration of emotional trust for another time for through this jumbled writing I can see the synapse origins are causing more than just confusion in my mind.